The New Misadventures Of Courage
by Couragefan09
Summary: My own take on what season 5 might have been like. Current Episode: Courage And The Ghost Dog


The New Misadventures Of Courage

By: Couragefan09

Episode 1: Courage And The Ghost Dog (Part One)

_My owner, my beloved owner. I remember when she first got me, I was just a puppy. She always played with me, fed me, took me for walks, and gave me the best toys a dog could ever ask for. I was always there for her and she was always there for me. _

_One day I woke up cold, alone and scared. I was in one of those places where humans put up those big, scary stone slabs. My owner was nowhere to be found but I looked everywhere for her. I tried to find her by smell but my nose hasn't worked very well ever since I woke up in that place. I tried to go home but I could never find it again. _

_So many years have passed since I lost my owner but I never gave up looking for her. I checked every city I could find, climbed the tallest mountains, crossed the sea to look for her among the people who speak those other languages. No matter where I looked I could never find her and I've been so lonely ever since I got lost._

_My travels have taken me to a place called Nowhere. I did not find my owner among the people who live there but I did follow a small family back to their farm. I've been watching them ever since I got there and I've seen how kind that old lady is to her dog. She reminds me of my owner and seeing how nice she is only strengthens my loneliness. I've thought about it for awhile and I'm beginning to think that it's time to give up my search. I've combed the earth, left no stone unturned but I have not caught a single glimpse of my owner or the home she and I once lived in. Muriel could never live up to my real owner but she will have to do for now. There is one problem though..._

_That...that DOG!_

_So long as that dog is still around Muriel will never take me as her pet! I have to get rid of him! I deserve an owner like her more than he does! If she's ever going to love me like a real animal then that dog is going to have to go!_

…...

**BOOOM**

"AAARRRAAAUUGGGG!" Courage screamed, leaping out of Muriel's arms.

"Oh Courage, it's just a wee storm." She spoke. The poor dog had latched himself onto the ceiling in terror.

"Stupid dog..." Eustace growled, pulling his newspaper up closer to his face.

Courage detached himself from the ceiling and landed back onto Muriel's lap. Rain beat at the living room windows while lightning illuminated the night sky. He watched the deluge for several minutes before closing his eyes and returning to his nap. He was just drifting off to sleep when a high pitched alarm rang out from the TV.

The newscaster was on. He was draped in a thick, yellow raincoat with an umbrella that was whipping around in the wind. "This is a Nowhere News emergency broadcast!" He yelled over the wind. "All of Nowhere is now under a severe thunderstorm warning!"

**ZAP**

Courage had to look away from the TV as it flash brightly. When he looked up again the newscaster was now charred and looking very surprised.

"So...don't go outside unless you want wrangle with this here monster of a storm..." He then proceeded topple over.

"A severe thunderstorm? Oh my!" Muriel exclaimed loudly. "Good thing I brought the laundry in this morning!"

"Mmm hmm!" Courage agreed.

**DRIP **

**DRIP **

**DRIP**

"Washuh?" Eustace asked, lowering his newspaper.

Muriel stood up, placing Courage onto the floor. "Oh dear, I think the roof is leaking again!"

Eustace grumbled something under his breath and set his newspaper down. "Come on, stupid dog! We gotta go fix that darn leak!"

Courage gasped. "But! But! Severe Storm!" He babbled out, momentary taking on the form of a Zeus like figure and tossing several lightning bolts around.

Eustace stared. "You stupid dog! Go fetch me my rain coat!"

Courage let out a cry of frustration but Eustace only scowled at him. He picked him up and tossed him out into the rain. He landed into a puddle head first...

"And don't come back until you find that rain coat!" The old farmer yelled, slamming the door.

Courage groaned and picked himself up. Lightning flashed overhead and jumped in terror. The wind was blowing so viciously that he was nearly dragged away because of it. He had to dig all four paws into the ground just to keep himself grounded.

He wasn't sure where to look for Eustace's coat. The old man liked to leave it sitting around just about everywhere and it could have easily blown away in all this wind. For all the poor pup knew, Eustace could have left the coat dangling at the top of the windmill.

He gazed over at the barn. One of its doors was banging open and shut. He decided to go check there first. If Eustace was going to leave his coat anywhere it would probably be there. Another flash of lightning had him running at full speed just to get behind the safety of the barn's walls. He sped over to the door and jumped inside.

Aside from the rain pounding outside and wind causing the wood to creak, the barn was pretty quiet and pretty dry, for the most part. He shook himself down until his fur finally stopped dripping with water. As soon as he was satisfied be began to search for Eustace's coat in all the usual places. It wasn't hanging up on the wall, it wasn't hiding behind any of the boxes, it wasn't buried under any of the haystacks, it wasn't even _inside _any of the boxes!

Courage let out a painful sigh. He'd have to check the second floor of the barn too and if it wasn't there, well...he was about to spend a very wet night trying to find the thing...

He grabbed the ladder and began to climb. He was about halfway up when the barn door slammed shut and it nearly caused him to lose his grip and fall. The entire barn shook from the force of it. Had the wind done that? He began to wonder if Eustace had gotten sick of waiting for him and now was playing his idea of a practical joke on him.

The ladder began to sway, much to his horror. It was like someone was at the top and trying to push it over. He squinted upward but there was nobody there. The whole thing was now swaying back and forth, the top not even connecting with the second floor. Courage decided he wasn't going to take the risk and began climbing down again. Just as his paws touched the floor the ladder swayed one final time and tipped over. He just barely managed to get out of the way before it came crashing down. He stared at it in surprise. Had the wind done that too?

"Weird..." He said to himself.

Something about this didn't feel right. He felt like he was being watched. He attempted to get a better look at the second floor but he couldn't see anything. If someone was up there, he didn't know. After a close call with the ladder like that he wasn't so keen on using it again. He decided he'd come back later with Eustace and worry about finding the coat somewhere else.

He walked back over to the barn door and tried to open it but it would not budge. He pushed on it as hard as he could but the door was stuck tight.

He scratched his head. The only way the door wouldn't open was if someone had locked it from the other...

**CRASH**

He jumped and fought back the urge to scream. One of the boxes had fallen over despite there being no one around to knock it over. He was becoming very aware of how dark and cold it was becoming in the barn. His breath was beginning to appear with every panicked gasp he took.

Another crash, this time it happened on the second floor. Courage pressed himself up against the barn door and babbled helplessly. It was getting so dark now that he could barely see his own paw in front of his face.

A black, wavy shadow appeared from the top floor and began to float down. Courage screamed as loud as his lungs would let him and he pounded at the door. A low hum reverberated through the barn causing his ears to hurt. The black, wavy _thing_ was getting closer and there was no means for him to escape.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

He turned back around and found that the shadow was nearly on top of him. He tried to dive out of the way but it was already too late. Everything went dark as he struggled to get it off of him. Try as he might, the more he flailed around the tighter it got around him. He was suddenly finding it very hard to breath. The shadowy object was constricting him so much that he couldn't even lift a finger anymore. He tried to find the breath for one last scream but then...

There was a loud THUNK as the wooden board that locked the barn door was removed. Courage heard the door open and the shadowy thing squeezing the life out him fell limp. He pushed it off and was surprised to find...Eustace's coat?

"Stupid dog! What were ya doin' with my coat all this time?" The old man yelled. He had been the one to unlock the barn door...

"ABUBUBUBUBU!" Courage babbled, jumping from one foot to the other. He took on the form of a monster wearing Eustace's coat.

"Stupid dog makin' me walk around in the stupid rain!" Eustace growled. He swiped the coat from him and put it on.

"ARRUUUU! Don't put that on!" Courage yelped, but he was ignored, as always.

"Come on, stupid dog! Yer gonna help me fix that darn leak!"

Courage gave the old man a soft whine and followed him back out into the rain. He waited for the coat to constrict around Eustace but it never did. Just what the heck was going on? He knew for a fact that the coat had floated down and tried to suffocate him...

Eustace grabbed a ladder from behind the house and set it up near where the leak was. Grumbling under his breath, he went back inside to get his tools. Courage was left out in a rain.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched but it was too dark to really see anything. Every once in awhile there would be a lightning flash and he would swear that there was the shadow watching him off in the distance every time. He found himself whimpering again and wished that Eustace would hurry up and come back so that they could go back inside where it was safe and dry.

Several minutes later, Eustace returned with his box of tools and promptly dumped them onto Courage. "Bring them up with ya!" He said. "And don't you dare drop a single one of 'em!"

Courage groaned but did as he was told. The stupid box was nearly as big as he was and trying to get up the ladder was a challenge in and of itself. He somehow managed it, panting and struggling the whole way up.

"Give it here, dog!" Eustace yelled. He gestured angrily at the box.

Courage was happy to get rid of it and handed it over to the old farmer. He sighed painfully, knowing that he would be the one who would have to carry it down too...

Eustace got to work on the leak, grumbling under his breath as he went. He tried to pound in a new board but his fingers kept slipping and the board kept sliding around. Twice he hit his own thumb and his mood only continued to worsen every time.

Courage found the driest bit of roof he could find and sat there. He knew it wasn't a good idea to be near Eustace when he was angry like this, so he kept his distance as a precaution. He kept scanning the horizon after every flash of lightning but the silhouette he had seen was gone. Perhaps he hadn't really seen anything at all...

**BOOM**

He jumped as a bolt of lightning struck dangerously close to the house. His fur tingled from the static. Was it just him, or had it suddenly gotten very cold? It felt like it could be snowing it was so cold. Was that his own breath he was seeing?

Eustace missed the board again and swore loudly. Courage inched away, hoping that he could avoid the old man's wrath. He shivered from the intense cold enveloping him. He was certain that his wet fur was about to freeze. Couldn't Eustace feel that? He turned around and sat down on the edge of the roof. He let his feet dangle as he watched the storm rage on.

Several more bolts of lightning struck dangerously close to the house. Eustace kept missing his mark and Courage was left there shivering and wishing that he could be somewhere warm. The cold was making every breath he took very painful. It was like the air itself was turning into ice.

"Stupid dog! What are ya doin' lazyin' about like that?" Eustace called out, causing Courage to sigh.

He stood up and turned around to rejoin Eustace at his side. He had expected to find the old man glaring down at him...instead he was treated to a shadow looming over him. He took a startled step backwards, forgetting that he was already on the edge of the roof, and nearly toppled over the side. Another flash of lightning illuminated his stalker and he was left with a horrific sight.

It was a _rotting _dog. It _looked_ like it was smiling but the truth was that most of it's mouth had rotted off leaving what looked like a massive toothy grin. Said teeth were yellow and decaying with a few evem missing. The right side of it's torso was missing nearly all of its flesh. It's ribs were displayed for all to see and it's arm was picked clean of everything except bone. It's left side was still completely covered but the flesh just barely clung to it. It was missing an ear and the one that still remained was badly frayed. It's eyes were a pale, pupil-less yellow and they glared at him with such hatred that he almost had to believe that they were the reason the air had such an oppressive chill.

For a moment he was too stunned to even scream. The zombie-like dog thrust it's rotting paws forward and pushed him over the edge. Temporarily regaining his senses, he grabbed the sides just as he was beginning to fall and managed to hold on. He couldn't pull himself up though, it was just too wet and slippery. The shadowy dog vanished in another flash of lightning and he was left dangling there.

"Courage!" Eustace cried out angrily. His frustration was clearly hitting its boiling point. He stomped over to the edge of the roof and glared down at him. "Stupid dog! What are ya doin' hanging off the edge!" He shouted.

"Abububub!" He babbled out, swinging his feet helplessly.

"Bet you lost your balance and fell! Dumb dog! All you had to do was..." He stopped. "Washuh?"

Courage watched as the old man turned around. He couldn't see far enough over the edge to know what was happening but he figured the rotting dog was back.

"Oh no!" He cried out. He tried to pull himself up again but it was no use.

"Who the heck are you!" Eustace growled. He was pointing his finger at something just outside of Courage's range of vision.

"ARUUUU!" He screamed, but the old farmer continued to ignore him. His fingers were going numb from the cold and he wasn't sure if he could hold on much longer. If that monstrous dog got to Eustace there would be no one around to help pull him up...

"Another stupid dog on my stupid roof! Get down! We ain't got nothing for the likes of you!" Eustace shouted. Courage let out another desperate cry but the farmer wasn't listening.

"H-hey! W-what are you doin'?" Eustace's tone suddenly became very unwary. He took a step back and almost joined Courage over the edge. "Why the heck does your face look like...AAAAAHHHHH!"

He let out his ever familiar scream and took another step back. This time he did go over the edge and he would have fell all the way down...had he not grabbed onto Courage's leg at the very last second.

Courage grit his teeth and dug his slippery, frozen paws even deeper into the roof. With Eustace's added weight he had no chance of pulling himself up, much less holding on for much longer. It was growing colder and colder by the minute.

"Pull us up, you stupid dog!" Eustace cried out from below. "Gonna give that freaky dog a piece of my mind!"

Courage groaned and attempted to pull the both of them back up. It was futile, he only managed to lose his grip even more. His fingers were barely even touching the edge anymore.

Another flash of lightning nearly blinded him. He blinked the lights out of his eyes and was greeted by the sight of that rotting dog staring down at him. It still had that gummy, yellow, rotting smile stretched out across it's muzzle. It raised a boney foot into the air and brought it down onto his fingers. He let out a cry and almost let go. The rotting dog raised it's foot again and stomped on his fingers one more time. He couldn't hold on anymore and let go...

Both he and Eustace screamed as they fell. When they hit the ground they sent up a wave of mud from the impact. Apparently they had landed in a massive mud puddle and it kind of helped that Courage had landed on Eustace who in turn had broken his fall...

He jumped off of Eustace's stomach and laughed sheepishly. The old man groaned and slowly sat up. He was momentarily dazed but his attitude quickly returned to normal. He raised a foot and kicked Courage away.

"Stupid dog! Now look what you've done! My favorite rain coat is all muddy and it's all because you let me fall!"

Courage laughed sheepishly again and took another step back. He didn't want Eustace to kick him again...

The old man looked back up at the roof. "Dumb dog! Bet that other stupid dog got away because of you! I don't want anymore stupid dogs lounging around on my property!"

Eustace took off his raincoat and flung it at Courage. "Here! Go make yourself useful and give that to Muriel! Gotta go make sure that stupid dog isn't hiding in the chicken coop! You had better not have told that dog he could stay here! I ain't needing anymore stupid dogs living around here!"

And with that he stomped off...

Courage sighed and turned around to head back into the house. He gazed up at the roof and found that it was still deserted. Just who was that dog? There was no way that it was just some stray that had wandered onto the farm. It seemed too intelligent to be some kind of zombie either. Courage knew zombies well and that was no zombie. Oh well, maybe Eustace really would drive it off. So long as it didn't try to hurt Muriel...or send him careening off another roof...he didn't really care what happened to it.

He opened the door and made his way inside. He was just plopping down the wet raincoat onto a chair when the door slammed behind him.

Must have been the wind, he figured...

The lights began to flicker ominously. The fridge across from him was growling like some kind of monster. The motor inside actually sounded like some kind of beast growling from within.

Courage backed himself up against the door. First Eustace's coat had attacked him, then a zombie dog had tried to knock him off the roof, and now this was happening? He reached for the door handle but it began to rattle like someone was trying to open it. His stomach dropped out from under him when he looked up and realized that nobody was there, not even Eustace.

The oven began to open and shut with a loud clatter, smoke bellowing from it's 'mouth'. All the appliances in the room were shuttering with some kind of unnatural life. The blender kept whirling on and off, the microwave kept beeping continuously, even the shelf doors were banging together.

Eustace's coat began to rise once again. It floated there like some invisible person were occupying it. Courage screamed and began to pull at the door but just like with the barn, it wouldn't open.

The clattering around him grew even louder. Plates, knives, and silverware all floated in and out of their respective shelves. The various appliances were practically ripping themselves out of their plugs trying to get to him. He screamed even louder and began to claw at the door.

"Courage?" He heard Muriel call.

Almost as quickly as it had started, all the noise stopped. The silverware and plates floated back into their places, the oven stopped spewing smoke, the blender fell quiet, and Eustace's coat went limp once again. The lights returned to normal and the oppressive air went away.

Muriel opened the kitchen door and stared down at him. He was still plastered to the other door, shaking like a leaf. He was certain that his heart was about to give out. Just what the heck was going on?

"Goodness, dear! What on earth is the matter?" Muriel asked. "You look like you've just seen a ghost! Where's Eustace? I thought I just heard some loud banging before. Was that him?"

"ABUBUBU!" Courage cried out. He grabbed her by the hem of her dress and pulled her out of the kitchen. He didn't dare leave her in a room where all the appliances had just come to life all on their own.

"Courage, why is Eustace's raincoat on the floor?" She asked as the door swung shut behind them. "Did that man slip into another mud puddle?"

"Mmmm hmmm!" Courage replied flatly. He had her sit back down in her rocking chair. Against his better judgment he decided that he was going to go check the kitchen again and see whatever might be going on. He needed to get to the bottom of this and possibly find out what that zombie dog meant. If there was one thing he was good at it was finding out what sort of craziness was plaguing the farm yet again.

End Of Part One


End file.
